Chapter 502: Can These Guys Just Give It a Rest?!
Simultaneously, the monitoring technicians frantically initiated an emergency communication protocol with the Magic Councilors, summarizing the catastrophic developments and projecting the live feed.
The Councilors, who were already gathered in the central chamber dealing with the fallout of the Grimoire Heart incident, received the emergency broadcast immediately.
"Is... is that actually Acnologia?" one Councilor stammered, staring at the massive, winged monstrosity dominating the main projection screen.
"Black wings, ethereal blue markings... its entire morphology matches the ancient texts perfectly," another Councilor said, pointing to a secondary screen displaying historical records and ancient, blurry photographs.
When the archaic images were enhanced, they revealed a dark, winged silhouette with faint blue markings—strikingly identical to the beast currently engaged in a high-speed dogfight on the live feed.
"Based on the preliminary telemetry data we're gathering, the target's raw magic power and physical output are off the charts. The probability of it being Acnologia is practically one hundred percent," a third Councilor noted, his voice tight with anxiety as he gestured to a rapidly updating data terminal.
The numbers on the terminal were skyrocketing. Several bar graphs and visual metrics had already blown past their maximum display limits, the data lines extending entirely off the screens. Other metrics were climbing at terrifying, exponential rates.
Seeing this raw data, the entire Council chamber fell dead silent.
They were all highly educated, experienced mages. They understood exactly what those numbers meant. And because they understood, they were paralyzed by sheer, primal terror.
They had never seen magical readings climb this fast, or reach these impossible heights. Worse, the data trajectory suggested the beast was only just warming up; the rate of escalation was increasing.
These metrics recorded the ambient Ethernano density, the kinetic force of the collisions, and the raw magical output of both combatants. The sheer volume of magic saturating the battlefield was completely unprecedented in modern history. The numbers were so astronomically high they defied all biological logic. It was impossible not to fall silent in the face of such absolute, incomprehensible power.
"And the one fighting Acnologia... is Noah from Fairy Tail, correct?"
Having definitively established the Dragon's identity, one Councilor hesitantly brought up the other combatant.
The rest of the Councilors grimaced and shut their mouths tightly. Noah had just publicly humiliated several of them—including the Chairman—mere minutes ago. Bringing him up now was a sore subject.
"Is it Fairy Tail again?! Did those chaotic degenerates cause this?!" The eyepatch-wearing Councilor suddenly erupted, slamming his fist on the table. "I knew they were nothing but trouble! They literally just finished destroying Grimoire Heart, and now they've somehow managed to provoke Acnologia?! Can these guys just give it a rest for one damn minute?!"
The other Councilors glanced at him, recognizing him as the man Noah had verbally and magically crushed earlier. His outburst wasn't surprising.
"According to our intelligence, Fairy Tail was conducting their S-Class promotional trials on Tenrou Island today. The trials were interrupted by Grimoire Heart's invasion," a Councilor who was closely aligned with Yajima spoke up calmly. "Given the timeline, they are almost certainly still on the island. It's impossible for them to have 'provoked' Acnologia for no reason. The only logical conclusion is that Acnologia actively sought them out and attacked."
The eyepatch Councilor gritted his teeth but fell silent. He knew the intelligence reports just as well as anyone else. He knew his accusation was entirely baseless and illogical, but his bruised ego and profound humiliation from earlier had demanded an outlet.
"To think Noah possesses this level of power... It seems his earlier claim that Hades was unfathomably strong wasn't an exaggeration. If Noah had to unleash power of this magnitude, it's no wonder Hades managed to escape," an older Councilor mused thoughtfully.
Given Noah's terrifying display of strength on the monitor, and combining it with the interrogation reports from the Grimoire Heart prisoners—who confirmed Hades was a master of countless Lost Magics and a pioneer of the Abyss—it made perfect sense that a monster of Hades's caliber could utilize some obscure, high-tier magic to slip away.
The other Councilors nodded in silent agreement, finding the logic sound.
"No, forget about Fairy Tail for a moment! The priority here is Acnologia!" another Councilor shouted, desperately trying to steer the conversation back to the apocalyptic threat. "The Wings of Demise! It has actually returned!"
He was right. Fairy Tail was a Legal Guild; Noah was a sanctioned mage. While they caused massive collateral damage, it was always an unintentional byproduct of completing their missions or defending themselves.
Acnologia was entirely different. Its historical record consisted exclusively of annihilating countries, wiping out civilizations, and bringing absolute apocalypse wherever it went. It was the ultimate, existential threat.
"How do we deal with it?"
The question hung heavily in the air.
The entire Council fell into a profound, suffocating silence.
Looking at the skyrocketing metrics on the data terminals, it was glaringly obvious that the Magic Council possessed absolutely no conventional means of engaging the Black Dragon. Its power was simply too vast, completely eclipsing standard military or magical intervention.
The only potential countermeasures they possessed came with apocalyptic costs and massive collateral damage. Furthermore, given the beast's absurd flight speed, the chances of actually hitting it with a stationary super-weapon were infinitesimally small.
Every Councilor racked their brains, cycling through every classified weapon, ancient artifact, and tactical protocol at their disposal. And every single one of them came to the exact same, depressing conclusion: they had nothing.
"We cannot simply do nothing. We must formulate a countermeasure immediately," Chairman Gran Doma finally spoke, his voice stern and commanding.
The Councilors looked at him, understanding his urgency. This Council had just been restructured following the catastrophic failure of the previous administration. Their public reputation was fragile. Now, facing the literal apocalypse, they had to act. If the world learned that Acnologia had returned and the Magic Council had done absolutely nothing, their remaining authority would completely disintegrate.
"I propose... we authorize the firing of Etherion," Gran Doma announced heavily.
"WHAT?!"
The entire chamber erupted in shock.
The Magic Council's reputation had nearly been destroyed precisely because the previous administration had been tricked into firing Etherion. Bringing it up again so soon was political suicide. Even if the previous firing was due to Jellal's manipulation, the super-weapon remained a deeply sensitive and highly controversial subject.
Yajima, who had been anxiously watching the feed of Noah's battle, snapped his head toward Gran Doma, glaring at the Chairman with uncharacteristic, fiery rage. Noah was currently locked in a life-or-death struggle with the Dragon, and this fool wanted to drop a localized apocalypse directly on top of him?!
"Firing Etherion is tactically unviable," one of the more level-headed Councilors interjected, pointing at the telemetry screen. "Look at the target's speed vector. It's already exceeding Mach 3, and it's accelerating. Furthermore, it's not exerting itself; it's practically cruising.
"Noah is currently engaging it in a high-speed, aerial dogfight, actively leading the Dragon away from Tenrou Island. Their movements are so erratic and fast that our sensors are barely maintaining a lock. If this is merely its cruising speed, it will easily outrun the Etherion blast."
The Councilor paused to let the logistical nightmare sink in.
"Etherion is fired from an orbital satellite. The beam takes several seconds to reach the surface. An entity with Acnologia's unfathomable instincts and sensory perception will absolutely sense the colossal buildup of magic in the upper atmosphere. It will simply fly out of the blast radius before the beam even makes contact."
Even if the resulting explosion leveled a massive area of the ocean, they couldn't guarantee the blast radius would catch the Dragon. And more importantly, there was a monumental difference between being caught in the shockwave of Etherion and taking a direct, concentrated hit from the primary beam.
"Furthermore, its physical defense is absolute. Even if Etherion hits, there is zero guarantee it will kill the beast," the Councilor added grimly.
The entire room understood exactly what he meant. They had all watched the live feed. Noah's massive golden beams—which generated kilometer-wide explosions upon impact—had collided with Acnologia's breath attacks, creating colossal, apocalyptic fireballs.
Yet, Acnologia had casually flown straight through the center of those raging infernos without a single scratch, immediately launching a counter-attack. Its scales were completely impervious to catastrophic magical explosions.
While they had faith in Etherion's ultimate destructive power, this was the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse. Overestimating its durability was impossible.
"If we fire Etherion and fail to kill it instantly... we will provoke the wrath of an invincible Dragon. We cannot fire Etherion in rapid succession. If the first shot fails, we will not get a second chance," the Councilor concluded heavily.
He didn't outright refuse the Chairman's proposal; he simply laid out the grim, irrefutable tactical reality.
And that reality plunged the room back into silence. Even Gran Doma had no counter-argument.
The logistical hurdles were insurmountable. They had no way to pin Acnologia down.
A few Councilors had briefly entertained the thought of asking Noah to act as bait, holding the Dragon in place while they fired the weapon. But they dismissed the idea almost instantly. Based on Noah's explosive temper and blatant disregard for Council authority earlier, he would never agree to be a sacrificial lamb.
The moment Noah sensed Etherion locking on, he would immediately teleport away. His Spatial Magic was instantaneous; he would escape far faster than Acnologia.
With Noah gone, Acnologia would also easily escape the blast zone. At best, the explosion might clip the Dragon's tail. At worst, it would completely miss, doing nothing but enraging the beast and turning the Magic Council into its primary target. A vengeful Acnologia descending upon Era would mean the end of the Council.
"Given the current tactical data, utilizing Etherion to execute Acnologia is unviable," Yajima finally spoke, his voice steady. "Our immediate priority must be disaster relief. We must dispatch the Rune Knights and magical relief squads to the coastal nations immediately to mitigate the damage from the tidal waves. We can reconvene to discuss long-term countermeasures for Acnologia once the immediate civilian crisis is stabilized."
Several Councilors nodded in strong agreement. If they couldn't kill the apocalyptic threat, the only logical action was to protect the innocent civilians caught in the crossfire.
Multiple coastal nations had already sent desperate pleas for aid. The sheer scale of the tidal waves was beyond their local military capacity; they desperately needed the Council's intervention.
"Agreed. Dispatch the emergency relief fleets to the affected coastal regions immediately. We will continue to monitor the situation and deliberate on a viable strategy for Acnologia," Gran Doma ordered, accepting the consensus.
Having reached a decision, the Councilors sprang into action. Without leaving the chamber, they began issuing rapid-fire orders through magical communication lacrimas, mobilizing fleets, coordinating supply lines, and dispatching relief squads.
They remained in the central chamber so they could receive real-time updates and monitor the apocalyptic duel. Solving the Acnologia problem remained their ultimate, overarching priority.
While coordinating relief efforts, Yajima constantly stole anxious glances at the live feed of Noah.
Although Noah was visibly losing ground in the fight, Yajima wasn't terribly worried about the boy's life. Noah possessed instantaneous teleportation; if things truly went south, he could escape at any time.
What Yajima was truly worried about were the other members of Fairy Tail. Because Noah had intentionally led Acnologia away from Tenrou Island, the Council's satellite feeds were locked onto the dogfight, entirely missing the cloaked island and the mages hidden within its barrier.
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